Hmmm so I am the Hungry Reader. The one who reads. The one who is constantly reading or wanting to read constantly. This blog is all about the books I have read, the ones that I am reading and gems that I plan to read in the future or whenever it arrives.

Monthly Archives: October 2014

Day 320: 25th of October 2014: The Writer by Ellis Sharp
Day 321: 26th of October 2014: The Faber Book of Adultery by Jonathan Gibbs
Day 322: 27th of October 2014: I Arrive First by Emma Jane Unsworth
Day 323: 28th of October 2014: Private Tuition with Mr. Bose by Anita Desai
Day 324: 29th of October 2014: Izzat by Ashapurna Devi
Day 325: 30th of October 2014: The Hijra by Kamala Das

Today was Day 319 of the 387 Short Story Project. I read a unique story, written by a unique writer. I had not heard of him earlier and I am glad that I did now. Stuart Dyber is a writer who is full of empathy and wit at the same time.

“Inland Sea” is a story which is short and extremely short at that. At the same time, the story could be about anything. That is what I love about it. The story just describes a scene and it is left to the reader to interpret the plot.

There are a lot of authors who write about animals and humans, but I doubt if any of them write as well as Kate DiCamillo does on the topic. I was first introduced to her when I read, “Flora and Ulysses” and since then I have not turned back. Kate DiCamillo’s stories are heart-warming and each of them features an animal and then the love between humans and animals is most visible.

“Because of Winn-Dixie” is a book about a girl and her chance meeting with a dog that changes everything in her life and in the new town she and her father move to. Ten-year old Opal learns 10 things about her long gone mother from her preacher father. That happens because of Winn-Dixie, the dog she finds at a departmental store and things are then never the same.

I love DiCamillo’s writing. There is of course the simplicity, which is needed for a children’s book but her books are also accessible to adults, when it comes to emotions and feelings. This book made me want to watch the movie. DiCamillo packs so much in less than two hundred pages and with every turn of the page, you either smile or choke up or both. If you want to start reading children’s books, I strongly recommend you read Kate DiCamillo.

Day 294: 29th of September 2014: Zelig by Benjamin Rosenblatt
Day 295: 30th of September 2014: Wild Plums by Grace Stone Coates
Day 296: 1st of October 2014: Willi by E.L. Doctorow
Day 297: 2nd of October 2014: A Poetics for Bullies by Stanley Elkin
Day 298: 3rd of October 2014: Redemption by John Gardner
Day 299: 4th of October 2014: Verona: A Young Woman Speaks by Harold Brodkey
Day 300: 5th of October 2014: The Ledge by Lawrence Sargent Hall
Day 301: 6th of October 2014: Water Liars by Barry Hannah
Day 302: 7th of October 2014: Least Resistance by Wayne Harrison
Day 303: 8th of October 2014: Into Silence by Marlin Barton
Day 304: 9th of October 2014: Bullet Number Two by Hannah Tinti
Day 305: 10th of October 2014: Do Something by Kate Walbert
Day 306: 11th of October 2014: The Bris by Eileen Polllack
Day 307: 12th of October 2014: Allegiance by Aryn Kayle
Day 308: 13th of October 2014: Balto by T.C. Boyle
Day 309: 14th of October 2014: Gunpowder Alley by Bill Pronzini
Day 310: 15th of October 2014: Midair by Frank Conroy
Day 311: 16th of October 2014: The Bystander by Gina Berriault
Day 312: 17th of October 2014: The Lover of Horses by Tess Gallagher
Day 313: 18th of October 2014: Rock Springs by Richard Ford
Day 314: 19th of October 2014: The Misfits by Arthur Miller
Day 315: 20th of October 2014: Akhnilo by James Salter
Day 316: 21st of October 2014: Walking Out by David Quammen
Day 317: 22nd of October 2014: Letters from the Samantha by Mark Helprin
Day 318: 23rd of October 2014: Bright and Morning Star by Richard Wright

It is a small book. It is something that you will perhaps read in half an hour. It is the kind of book though that will remain in your subconscious forever. It is an essay. It is a Commencement speech given by George Saunders at Syracuse University in May 2013. The speech is about kindness, about what it means to be kind and perhaps the only regrets he has ever had have been those when he was not kind to people.

“Congratulations, By the Way” is a book which will make you reflect and wonder about life and its worth. The book does not proclaim to teach you anything and maybe if you want to, you will probably not learn anything from it either. But I also think that kindness is something which is inherent, and yet most of us fail miserably, at being kind.

The book is simply written and is just about being kind to one another and if possible, also to oneself. We also tend to forget sometimes how important it is to be kind to oneself. I will most certainly reread this book and also will recommend it to people – so that we never forget to be kind.